I played WoW for quite a 1 1/2 year. I made some raids and stuff. But it came to the point that it was just grinding gold and stuff to go raiding for better equip...
It took me 3 month of that and then I lost my motivation to go on. i liked it and played few classes but in the end its just hunting for equip which is 2% better then what you have right now.

I payed some money for some haapy hours of gameplay which I miss a little bit because the gamemechanics are aproved and well ballanced in my opinion.
Nowadays I spend my time in RP-games like Hellgate or Diablo II... (I'm not cured from the grinding-virus ;) )

I certainly hate it for what it has done to some people... maybe wrong, but you don't wanna accept the truth sometimes :p

please do inform us of this 'truth', as you've at least peaked my interest...

outside of that, I find myself recently not as much playing WoW because I have to play it, and indeed because (everyone tells me) I'm addicted, but because I want to hang out with my friends. Perchance I've never seen their faces, but I don't need a face to know someone... I've been talking to them more then long enough to know what kind of people they are.

I find myself not much of an addict, though whenever I'm on holidays I do not miss the game itself, I miss my friends. Now when talking about this concerning 'real' friends, nobody thinks of this as strange or addicted. But mention the word WoW once and suddenly you're branded as addicted since you're online friends aren't real, but imaginary somehow, and used by that evil corporation to keep you hooked to their game.

Also, on several occasions I used to be complimented on teamwork skills by teachers. Now I generally answer them that I have experience working with groups, since I do. Once however I made the mistake of telling them these groups were mostly raid groups in WoW, at which point I literally got laughed at. I had to spend half an hour explaining that though it is a game, teamwork is vital for raiding, and then having to ask "what would you have said if I never mentioned the raid part?" before finally getting through to him.

In my opinion the thing that made WoW (and MMO's in general) big is the social aspect. You can get to quite a bit on your own, but at some point or another, you have to start grouping up. This evolving into getting in touch with people you like, getting in a guild with aforementioned people and doing things with those people, be it raiding, battlegrounds or stomping on a tauren's face in the Barrens... You don't keep playing it because of the divine and perfect gameplay (there are plenty of flaws to rant about, each MMO has it's own), but because you're playing it with others.

On to the topic of the hate towards WoW (and maybe MMO's in general), I would guess it's because it's relatively new (at least big enough now for media attention) and never done before. "An online world where one can roam about freely, doing as he likes and have contact with other people from cultures he never knew existed? This must be dangerous or evil. This can only be the work of the devil" Okay, maybe I'm taking it too far, but the same reactions were made against things like rock music or the GTA series or even the first FPS-games. Yet all of those are commonly accepted these days, and I see no reason why MMO's shouldn't be.

*shudder*
My best friend since Kindergarten has been playing WoW since '05. Ever since then, he greets people by backstabbing them, talks about hamstringing when he wants someone to stop, and loads of other things that freaks me and everyone else out.

WoW must DIE.

WoW can be loads of trauma-inducing fun if you actually ROLE-PLAY(i.e. playing it the RIGHT way).

WoW is just another example of a problem that has plague MMOGs since the creation of the genre:

Users will play a game and, after a while, discover it has a lot of bad design elements. By the time they've grown tired of it and quit in frustration, however, they're so used to the bad shit that they demand it from the next game -- even if it's stuff that they constantly bitched about, often even stuff that accelerated their exit from their previous MMOG of choice.

The worst thing, of course, is that WoW followed this trend but got really big. That means a huge number of new users, virgin souls originally uncorrupted by some random bad mechanic from Everquest or UO, were introduced to the genre's stupid baggage, meaning that it will continue to plague MMOG design for years or decades to come.

-- Alex

I don't like WoW, I don't like the principle behind it (milk gamers for as much $$$ as possible )it makes the game dev's seem like drug dealers, and I don't find it interesting or fun enough to even warrent the purchase of the disc, let alone the $15 a month you have to pay. But if you enjoy endless grind, and hate money, go for it, play Wow as much as you like, I'm not stopping you, just don't expect me to have any respect for your opinion on other games.

Not a Spy:
I don't like WoW, I don't like the principle behind it (milk gamers for as much $$$ as possible )it makes the game dev's seem like drug dealers, and I don't find it interesting or fun enough to even warrent the purchase of the disc, let alone the $15 a month you have to pay. But if you enjoy endless grind, and hate money, go for it, play Wow as much as you like, I'm not stopping you, just don't expect me to have any respect for your opinion on other games.

You just don't get it!!!

*runs back into corner*

Personally, I love the game, perhaps because of the fact that I'm on an RP server, or maybe because I'm just addicted for the moment. I've only played about a month and it's safe to say I'm hooked. Either way, from the outsider's point of view, I can see why such a thing seems ridiculous. After all, the game is nothing special in terms of either gameplay or graphics, and to pretty much everyone it's just a major grind fest that has some hex woven into the programming that gives you a short zap unless you help noobs run through WC for the umpteenth time.

What I'd like to address is not the more common complaints and issues, but the cause of them. The whole reason why the game is so addicting and so fun is the social networking. The game is, in fact, a virtual world. You start as a single person in a sea of users, and with time, you build status. You meet others, join a group, and attend meetings. Soon you find yourself grinding to keep up with friends you've never seen in person, and you raid because it's a lot of fun to do as a group. Eventually, the line between Earth and Azeroth becomes blurred, and you start doing odd things like reaching for a nonexistent L key to check what all you have to do that day, assuming that simply crouching will render you invisible, and saying something awkward aloud when you intended to whisper a person across the room. (I've actually done all three.) What I'm trying to point out is that the game's core mechanics, the battle system, the leveling, they aren't that great. But the fact is that WoW is a world in and of itself, and people begin to live in it. And once they do that, they become comfortable with what they've been through. The decent gameplay becomes second nature. The cartoony graphics take on a sort of subtle elegance. And after some time, people begin preferring that world to this one, because in that world they aren't some average Joe, or the overweight 35 year old that lives in mom's basement. They're great heroes and cunning villains, with friends who are just as epic and just as interesting.

Turning even farther toward the RP spectrum, and continuing from the last sentence, the game allows us to become things we can't normally be, or in some cases things that we simply hope to be. Take for example myself. I have a tauren named Equani (on Moon Guard if anyone's interested). He's a wise man, a weapons master, and is one with nature, despite being a warrior. And though I'm well on my way to all three of those, I'm not quite old or experienced enough to truly reach that level. So, Equani is acts as a realization of my aspirations, which I enjoy playing because he is, in all reality, an amplified aspect of myself, which in the RP world is what every character is, regardless of what the player claims. And it is because we can further develop our characters and in turn ourselves that we enjoy walking this virtual land.

So, to top it all off, I love WoW, and I happily accept the world it gives me, but I can't help but wonder what all these people could be doing in the time they spend grinding. But, it's escapist entertainment, and it's bloody great fun.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some mobs to grind.

I think a lot of the hate for World of Warcraft comes from its reputation of having the worst online community ever conceived. The game itself is a lot of fun for most people until they look down at their chat log or get into their first PuG.

After playing the game since its late beta stages, I grew tired of the repetitive end-game play and decided to make something positive out of it. Seeing how I loved the lore and enjoy writing, I rolled on an RP server to act as an outlet for my creativity. I only now play very casually. However, I realize that I can never truly quit due to the fact that I'm exempt from monthly payments (having Blizzard employees in the family has its ups and downs).

The reason most people hate it is because they lose their gaming friends to it, a guy thats really good at an FPS but leaves his clan to play WoW (this happens a lot) gets people pretty angry.

please do inform us of this 'truth', as you've at least peaked my interest...

nothing interesting really, just that it's the people themselves getting hooked, which I can't really blame on the game just as the TC somewhat stated.

WoW don't makes people fail their education, people make themselves fail their education ;_;

Ivoryagent:
WoW can be loads of trauma-inducing fun if you actually ROLE-PLAY(i.e. playing it the RIGHT way).

Which is why i play my Neverwinter Nights server Arelith [/Blatant Advertisement]
<.<
>.>
Seriously though, i tried World of Warcrack for a bit... and got all twitchy from the lack of role play... i'll stick to my real DnD games (as above mentioned) and my decent servers (granted... not that i've played there for 4 months... but hey still love the people...)

Not a Spy:
I don't like WoW, I don't like the principle behind it (milk gamers for as much $$$ as possible )it makes the game dev's seem like drug dealers, and I don't find it interesting or fun enough to even warrent the purchase of the disc, let alone the $15 a month you have to pay. But if you enjoy endless grind, and hate money, go for it, play Wow as much as you like, I'm not stopping you, just don't expect me to have any respect for your opinion on other games.

...milking gamers for as much as possible.. for me it costs 9 pound a month. i've seen more costly pay to play games around. hell i've seen 'free' mmos that charge you for items and those items cost more than a month playtime on WoW.

And yeah.. I hate money... damn this disposable income that i have and want to spend on a game i actually find entertaining. DAMN IT TO HELL. ya know what else my hatred of disposable income makes me do? it makes me buy other games, buy alcohol, go out and enjoy life away from the confines of my desk. so yeah... its good to hate money me thinks.

I played WoW for about six months I think. It was fun, and i quit mostly because of guild drama and a general loathing of some of the people playing it. Things that Blizzard has little control over.
However, what I dislike about MMO's in general is the incentive to keep playing it after you've reached max level. It just seems a little forced. A lot of players play the game for only a few months or quit and start new characters months later. I wish MMO's were more focused on these players instead of trying to bait long-time players into doing more of the same thing. This would probably get rid of most of the people who can't seem to stop playing and I think it would also make more money in the end.

To clarify: I think MMO's cater too much to the hardcore crowd, which is what gives them a bad rep. While a game like Guild Wars lacks a lot of the features that define a MMO, I think it's a good example how a game can be fun to play for a long time without resorting to "trapping" players. I hope future MMO's will take some clues from it, instead of just repeating the WoW formula.

Oh, I forgot before, but I'll take Xbox Live over World of Warcrack any day. You aren't stuck to one game, but instead have a whole array of different games. Also, what is the point of going through level 70 ten times over, albeit with different guys?

Honestly, I think I lost my appetite for a Warcraft IV because of this damn game.

I am insulted by the fact that they are charging money to play it.

What was wrong with Battle.net? Nothing I say! Damned sellouts.
And there is not eaven a singleplayer campaign!

And they ruined the dreani! Spaceship!?!

I used to play the game myself, you see.

Believe me, it's addictive, and your social life is worth a lot more than your Lvl 60 Undead whatzit.

Anyway, I stopped playing due to that fact, and I consistently praise myself for making the right decision.

The hate is spawned from a combination of Blizzard's willfulness to take your money, the addictiveness of the game and its mainstream status.

All 3 of these factored in, it is easy to understand why we hate the game so much.

P.S. I dislike all MMOs, mind you. PROPER RPGs like Morrowind are much more worth playing.

Well I play on a free server and although it is not a bad game it is not fantastic. However I know a guy who has spent the last 3 years on it. Although I cannot blame the game when he says stupid things like "I play it for the social aspect" then I feel the need to hurt him.
However I can understand the desire to play it when you pay such a exorbitant free each month you kind of want to get your moneys worth.
But yes most of my initial hatred came about when he talked about it being soo great then when I went to visit he stood around for 2 hours just trying to put a party together...

Solo508:
The reason most people hate it is because they lose their gaming friends to it, a guy thats really good at an FPS but leaves his clan to play WoW (this happens a lot) gets people pretty angry.

and that isn't egocentric in the extreme, your friends should do whatever makes You happy.

Well I play on a free server and although it is not a bad game it is not fantastic. However I know a guy who has spent the last 3 years on it. Although I cannot blame the game when he says stupid things like "I play it for the social aspect" then I feel the need to hurt him.

Those "Stupid things" Are really the only reason that most anyone plays it. Be prepared to hurt the entire WoW fandom.

However I can understand the desire to play it when you pay such a exorbitant free each month you kind of want to get your moneys worth.
But yes most of my initial hatred came about when he talked about it being soo great then when I went to visit he stood around for 2 hours just trying to put a party together...

Oh, and you don't take several hours getting IRL parties together, supplies, food, and invitations included? I've got to congratulate you there.

I don't HATE WoW, but I left it because it... it just wasn't a real RPG to me.

But to me, WoW is the best MMORPG out there (it's Blizzard after all), it's just not my cup of tea.

ok u guys do kno theres a new expansion comin out right?? cause ive seen loads ppl put things like "all u do is grind to lvl wen ur at lvl 70" well yes... thats because ur at ur TOP LEVEL!! wen ur at lvl 70 ur meant to do dungeon raids or mabey get a raid party and attack the other players on the opposite faction and plus theres outland(another area for the ppl who dont play wow) which will have more quests and beasts to get u through that(if im wrong about outland tell me not at lvl 70 yet lol). The thing is what are blizzard meant to do for ya wwhen u are lvl 70, theres nout i can think of. thats y they will keep brining out expansions every few months with new creatures quests and items, and possibly new races, just think about this eye?

Mullahgrrl:
I am insulted by the fact that they are charging money to play it.

What was wrong with Battle.net? Nothing I say! Damned sellouts.
And there is not eaven a singleplayer campaign!

And they ruined the dreani! Spaceship!?!

there isnt a single player campaige because its a MULTIPLAYER GAME!! read the topic and what ppl have put first before ya ya criticize the game man

i found it boring, and theres controversey purely due to how other gamers see it. Like the in PC gamer they said about how one guy became so obsessed with WoW he missed work, started taking drugs, lost money and eventually died...

but that also proves how stupid people can be.

It's currently the most popular game in the world so of course its going to have more "addicts". As for people who throw their social lives away over the game... There is an off button on your PC, WoW didn't come up with a quest that said "Shun your friends for this game... complete!" If a friend is going to shun you because of a game then he obviously isn't a friend. I would rather chill out with friends doing nothing but chat crap than play any video game because social interaction is a lot more stimulating.

The only problem with WoW is people who "rape" the game. I've played for around a year now yet I still maintain an active social life. My friends who have gone off to university (I didn't go because I'm studying through other means :P) play also and its a great way to keep in contact with them whilst having fun; yes, fun is the operative word here. If you don't find WoW fun then great fine just don't come down on the entire WoW community by outrageously claiming we're all a bunch of no-life retards. I dunno maybe it's just my philosophy that if somebody's happy doing something then let them carry on in peace.

However contradicting my first point some people are extremely weak willed and since this is a game that sucks you in and requires quite some time to progress your character(s) they simply don't know when to stop. This isn't because WoW is an addictive game it's because stupid people do stupid things. I mean these individuals would be addicted to some other video game if WoW didn't exist so how is it Blizzard's fault? Or indeed based on the minority of people who play WoW how is the entire community "addicted"?

Finally I'd just like to make a request. If you don't like WoW just remember its all a matter of opinions, just because you hate something does that mean everyone else must? Thanks for bearing with my looooooong ass post. (Note: it wasn't meant to sound like a rant... even if it turned out that way :P)

Michael_McCloud:
Those "Stupid things" Are really the only reason that most anyone plays it. Be prepared to hurt the entire WoW fandom.

You want Social... you go outside. You know... Where the people are. Sitting on your ass in your room all day playing video games does not count as being social. No more then having a blow up doll means you have a girlfriend.

Michael_McCloud:
Oh, and you don't take several hours getting IRL parties together, supplies, food, and invitations included? I've got to congratulate you there.

Yeah once again you are confusing irl with a video game. Irl you have to do stuff and go places to prep. Putting together a party of morons to go raid a area should not take 2 hours of doing nothing standing around spamming the main chat with "LFG LVL 70 BT"

Michael_McCloud:

Oh, and you don't take several hours getting IRL parties together, supplies, food, and invitations included? I've got to congratulate you there.

Doesnt take that long to throw together a party in real life. hell the quickest i've seen a party thrown together (this includes going to get the supplies and the people to show) has been 20 minutes.

Click an enemy. Click whatever they drop. Level up. Exchange loot for gold. Exchange gold for new skills. Repeat. How fun.

I like WoW, it's very addictive and also fun, even what it does to people is sort of funny.

I don't like WoW because like it looks like a hippy designed it, too much ugly textures and flashy colors :/
Also because I find the grinding in RPG's to quickly become old and boring, as well as how it makes some of my friends sound like idiots when they go around spouting "LOL IMBA".

Oh and I really don't like the idea of paying for a game more than once, that's just wasting your money.

Simski:

Oh and I really don't like the idea of paying for a game more than once, that's just wasting your money.

And when you think about it, most of the content exists in instances (dungeons & PvP) which aren't event dependant on a constantly open world environment and could be pulled off with a peer to peer connection.

You're basically paying a monthly fee to hang out in front of the auction house while being spammed by gold farmers.

I would get this game if I could afford what they ask for it, but I have resolved myself not to get an MMO until the only money you have to pay is the money for the disc.

On